


Mist, Moss, and Melancholic Melodies

by SnowMoonyx



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Gen, Norwegian Mythology & Folklore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21845896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowMoonyx/pseuds/SnowMoonyx
Summary: Legend and Four gets stranded in a haunting forest on their own after changing eras again. But what is hidden in the water? And why does that melody sound so familiar?
Comments: 6
Kudos: 102





	Mist, Moss, and Melancholic Melodies

The changing of timelines rarely happened at convenient times. Maybe the sheer unpredictability was part of being a hero, but if he was to be honest Legend didn't appreciate it at all. He was an organized person, he had to be after going through five whole adventures on his own. His house might've been chaotic to some, but he _had_ a system, and everything had its place. He was _organized_.

This whole 'adventure' Hylia was currently putting them through was anything but. No clues as to who they were supposed to be fighting, no clues as to what could be the solution. No warning at all when they swapped eras. And that was why Legend and Four currently found themselves stranded in the middle of a forest somewhere, with no idea as to where the others might be nor which direction they should be going with the trees standing close to each other all around, the dark sky of settling twilight barely visible above them.

"Perfect. Just _perfect_."

"Hey, cheer up. You could've been stranded with Wild or Hyrule instead you know," Four said, hoisting his shield on his back. It was damp from being discarded on the ground, moist moss covering the entire forest floor. "If that was the case, Hylia knows where you might have ended up."

"I suppose," Legend muttered, kicking in the moss and revealing the dirt underneath, the ground treacherous and slippery. "But we're still pretty clueless as to where to even _start_. Which direction is the right one?"

Four shrugged. "If you ask me then I ask you. But wait, is that a river over there? If we walk against the stream we might get to some higher ground and get a better overview of this place."

"Its not like we got much choice, is it? Let's get going."

So the two heroes started walking through the dense forest, keeping to the river, not talking much. They had no clue as to which era they were in, nor where the others were, so they were alert, listening for any noise that might give them a hint about anything at all. It wasn't half-bad, Legend supposed. Four was quite rational, and the smith had quite a lot experience just like himself. Even if the two of them didn't always talk together they did get along surprisingly well, and there were worse people to be stuck in a situation like this.

They walked for an hour or so, the forest looking the same no matter how far they got. It was like they somehow walked in a circle, despite keeping to the river that they still hadn't gotten to the source of. Legend had a sinking feeling in his stomach, connections the dots, and his voice was quiet as he spoke.

"I think we are in one of the Lost Woods."

Four stiffened at that, sparing him a glance. "You sure? If that's the case we might need to look for some clues as to how we're supposed to get out."

Legend hummed in agreement, scouring the area in front of them with keen eyes. What were the different methods used across the eras? He knew he himself had to follow the right ghosts in one of these woods, but there was no ghosts to follow. Wild had to follow the direction of the wind, but it was quiet around them, eerily so. Four had mentioned using something he called a 'tingle dowser', not that he had any clue as to what that might be. He was about to ask Four to try using it when the other hero made a noise of triumph, pointing in front of them.

"You were wrong! See, there's the end of the forest!"

Sure enough, the population of the trees grew denser and the area in front of them got lighter as they walked forward. Legend had to shield his eyes when they stepped out from between the trees, the sudden brightness stinging his eyes. He blinked a few times, squinting, before he was able to open them fully, taking in the new area.

"Well, looks like _you_ were wrong too. We're not out yet."

The sky had opened above them, the trees had cleared from before them, but they weren't out of the forest. Instead they found themselves in a rather large clearing, the river streaming out from a heightened pond in the middle, the water a dark blue colour.

Four sighed, placing his hands on his hips ad he looked around.

"I guess not. Well, what do you say we take a break? I'm starting to get hungry."

Legend frowned, looking up at the sky. The twilight above them had considerably brightened, giving way to a rather gloomy morning, the sky above completely clouded over. "Let's make it quick then, it looks like it's gonna rain soon, I-"

He stopped mid-sentence, falling quiet as he listened. There was something familiar in the air, a faint... melody?

"What's wrong?" Four asked. He looked like he wanted to say something more when his eyes widened, body stiffening, and Legend supposed he heard it too.

Neither noticed the mist creeping up on them, isolating them from their surroundings.

"It can't be," Legend whispered, his heart tugging painfully at the sound as it slowly grew clearer. "It's not..."

"Sh-shadow," Four suddenly whimpered, whipping his head around, eyes widely searching all over the area around him despite it being completely clouded over, a thick fog all around. A haunting melody was in the air, pulling at Legend, and seemingly Four too given by the way his sword clattered to the ground. The smaller hero took a step towards the pond that was calling out for them, the surface of the water rippling despite neither having touched it.

Legend drew a sharp breath at that. An uncannily deep pond, a haunting melody, something beckoning them to come closer to the water...

He knew what this was. His heart broke a little bit, but he shoved _that_ thought to the back of his head, instead rushing over to Four, grabbing his wrist.

"Four, you need to snap out of it."

He had expected Four to resist. He had expected Four to try and push him away. He hadn't expected Four being so... _mad_. So vehement with his reaction.

"Let go of me!" he furiously snapped, eyes crazed, using his other hand to try and pry Legend harshly off. "You can't stop me!"

"I know you're not yourself right now, but you have to listen," Legend insisted, grabbing Four's other wrist too, capturing his hands in a tight hold. "Whatever you're hearing isn't real. It's painful, I know, but if you let yourself be taken over then you're going to walk out in that water by free will and _drown_."

His words fell flat against Four's ears, the smaller hero struggling more violently. With Legend still refusing to let go he raised his arms, bending his head forward and biting Legend's hand. The veteran winced, letting go of Four with his now bleeding hand, which was a clear mistake on his part. Four clawed at the other hand, forcing Legend to let go, before turning around and running towards the pond, the waterlilies bobbing more in the water than before.

Legend cursed, activating his Pegasus' Boots, chasing after Four. He was forever grateful that Four didn't usually wear his, and he managed to wrap his arms around Four when he was less than a meter away from the water, planting his heels in the ground, sliding to a stop just shy of the pond.

Strands of red hair flowed in the mist somewhere out there in the water, and Legend squeezed his eyes shut, forcing all of it away.

"Let go of me! I need to get to Shadow! I let him down once, I'm not letting that happen again!"

"There's no way I'm letting you go out there," Legend hissed through gritted teeth, firmly keeping his hold on Four despite his struggles. "Stop resisting, it's pointless!"

"You don't understand," Four pleaded, turning around in Legend's grip, staring him in his eyes which Legend reluctantly opened. Four's own irises were a strange, faded gray, all clouded over, a hint of lavender shining from beneath. "I _have_ to go to Shadow, he needs me!"

"I don't know who Shadow is to you, but you need to know that _this_ Shadow isn't real. He's just a trick, meant to lure you out in the water."

Four's face turned furious. "Let me _go!_ " He managed to wrench one arm free, reaching up to claw at Legend's face, trying to shove him away. Legend endured the pain, knowing if he didn't then they could lose Four for good. He felt Four's nails break through his skin, the pain stinging, but he didn't let go.

The melody around got louder, more desperate, and Legend knew he only had to hold out a little bit longer. The clouds above parted some, letting through a few beams of sunlight.

Four started screaming at him, hammering at his chest after scratching up Legend's face. Soon the dry anger changed to its wet counterpart, and Four was crying as he screamed at Legend, _pleading_ at him to let go, cursing him. And then the anger faded out, and all the strength in Four's body did too, the two of them falling to their knees. The wet moss clung to them, slowly soaking Four's leggings and leaving his own legs damp. Legend slowly loosened his tight grip on Four, changing it to a gentle embrace as the smith shook in his arms, holding him tight in an attempt to comfort him.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Sh-shadow, I'm sorry," the younger cried as Legend gently stroke his back, trying to hold his own tears at bay.

More sunlight broke through the clouds. The mist slowly dispersed, and the melody, the beautiful, heart-wrenching, haunting melody faded away, note by note, and with the threat gone he finally allowed himself a moment to remember her, the person the creature had impersonated.

Marin.

The two heroes clung to each other in the clearing. Their old scars were ripped open, not yet healed.

They would never properly be. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was a live write I did on the discord, edited a little bit
> 
> Oh, and the creature is loosely inspired by 'Nøkken'.


End file.
